Session 4.221: DPLM

After a two-session hard-core surfing on Sunday, I did take a rest on Monday, and so this morning was the first one of the week. 29 days to go for 250 days of surfing, which is encouraging. I am going to be away, back home in Japan for a week, so I have to make sure that we do a lot of surfing this month, so I can take the December in strides.

Last night, I had a beer and a lot of tea afterwards and that was not a good idea. I had to get up 3 times, so the idea of pre-dawn arrival at the beach was all erased. The second time I woke up, I turned off the alarm, but still managed to get up by 6:00, but I was sluggish, and did not get to the beach until 7:30! I need to do better tomorrow morning. This sounds like a lot of details, but this goes to say that doing a good dawn patrol need a quite a bit of dedication and planning. Like not drinking a lot liquid before go to bed, and go to bed early so I can get up early with all the gear for surfing and also going to work afterwards.

My wife sometimes sees me getting ready for the next day and it is like going on a few night's trip.

• I pack the change of the cloths for office in a duffel bag, and take it out of the bed room so that I don't have to wake up my wife when she is sleeping.
• I pack the laptop computer in the backpack, the wallet and other stuff. S
  
• I throw in the helmet, the booties, and a leash in the "wet stuff" bin.
• Now I basically got a luggage consisting of two bags and a bin. I take them downstairs into the garage then I load all of them in the back of my wagon.
  
• Then strap the choice of boards from my quiver on the rack. Usually I take two.
  

This will save at least 15 minutes of time in the morning. If everything goes smoothly in the morning, then I leave home at 6:10 or so, pick up a coffee and a pastry on the way, then I'd be at the beach ready by around 6:30 or 6:45. Then I would surf until my watch says it is 8:30.

When usually I get in, I score first 2-3 rides right away. Then, for the reasons that I have not quite figured out, I start having problems, or the sets don't come for a while, then it is 8:30 already and sets gets better. So I am always tempted to go for "one more" wave, which of course, have some severe consciences... like a vendor visitor sitting in the company lobby just as I roll in to the office, so I usually try to hold the urge and get out when the watch says so.

Of course, once in a great while some worse stuff happen... like totally having a good time catching one wave after another, not realizing how long it has been and then I see the traffic on the Highway 1 and "How come the traffic is so light there this morning!"... a moment later, a rude awakening and realization hits underneath my helmet. "Oh, man, shit. It is 9:30 already!"

Getting back to the car, the LCD on the phone says "2 New Messages". I listen, "Message Received Nine Ten AM. Hi Manabu, Mr. Johnson from Stoke-O-Mation is waiting at the lobby...." Pressing 3 to skip the first and now "Message received Nine Twenty AM. Hi Manabu, Mr. Johnson is still waiting. Please give us..."

But most usually, I am prompt, so I can get away from occasional mishaps!

Did I miss a meeting this morning. No.
Did I have fun surfing. Nice glassy relaxing surf this morning. It was fun. I would give today a Stoke 6.